Database/Film Forming/Polystyrene
100% petroleum · ISO 16128

Is Polystyrene natural?

No. Styrene repeat unit is manufactured from petrochemical benzene and ethylene via ethylbenzene; no natural-origin fragment is present.

INCI namePolystyrene
CAS9003-53-6
FunctionFilm Forming
FeedstockManufactured by polymerising styrene monomer, itself made from…

How we scored it

Homopolymer of styrene; styrene monomer is petrochemical (ethylbenzene dehydrogenation), so the repeat unit carries no natural-origin mass.
What counts. ISO 16128-2 scores the atoms that remain in the final ingredient. Reagents, solvents, catalysts and protecting groups used during manufacture leave no mass behind and are not counted.

Where it comes from

Manufactured by polymerising styrene monomer, itself made from petrochemical ethylbenzene (benzene plus ethylene). Bio-based styrene exists at pilot scale but is not commercially significant for cosmetics.

In plain English

A synthetic plastic polymer used to form a film on skin or hair. Made industrially from styrene, a petrochemical; not derived from any natural source.

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References

  1. 1ISO 16128-1:2016 and ISO 16128-2:2017 — Guidelines on technical definitions and criteria for natural and organic cosmetic ingredients and products. ISO, Geneva.
  2. 2POLYSTYRENE. CosIng — European Commission cosmetic ingredient database. ec.europa.eu/cosing ↗
  3. 3POLYSTYRENE. CosIng u2014 European Commission database for information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. https://ec.europa.eu/growth/tools-databases/cosing/search?search=POLYSTYRENE